You did it ‘inspite of’!

What better way to feel the magic of Independence Day than to have experienced the magic of Dipa Karmakar’s feat of standing 4th in the Women’s Vault event in the Rio Olympics.

What makes it special is that she did it inspite of many things.

When she first came to her coach Bishweshwar Nandi at age 6, she had flat feet, a condition not really conducive to being a gymnast!

She did it inspite of her flat feet!

India is not really known for it’s brilliant culture of gymnastics. In fact Dipa had to practise using substandard equipment for a long time.

She did it inspite of not having the best infrastructure.

The politics in the Gymnastics Federation of India is well known and widely reported by the press. It means athletics don’t get the amount of international exposure, encouragement and support that is needed for them to be in their top form.

She did it inspite of the system.

I know I need not elaborate.

I believe Dipa represents that force called ‘inspite of’ that we human beings possess.